The news agency Reuters recently published an investigative piece that looked at the extent West Fertilizer Company notified state and local officials about the chemicals it stored on site and the extent that anyone took notice.
The report examined if the company complied with the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, which requires companies to notify responders and other officials about what hazardous materials they house. And while Reuters calls the company's reporting record "spotty," West Fertilizer did submit its emergency planning documents in February 2012.
This turns the attention to the fire department, a small volunteer group with limited resources that's still reeling from the tragedy.
"The West, Texas, first responders were doing the best they could under the circumstances," Neal Langerman, chemical and health safety officer at the American Chemical Society, told Reuters. "The failure was in the community, county and state leadership to provide emergency planning and implementation guidance.
"I don't think it's appropriate to beat up on what the first responders did at the time of detonation, but everything that led up to it — preparedness and preparation — was lacking," he said.
Tommy Muska, West's mayor and one of its volunteer firefighters, told Reuters he doesn't want to second-guess what responders did prior to the explosion. He praised their ability to evacuate as many residents as they did.
Whether Mayor Muska wants it or not, second-guessing is exactly what's likely to follow.
And while the incidents are by no means parallel, what's happening in West reminds me of Charleston, S.C. in 2007, when nine firefighters died battling the Sofa Super Store fire. In the upper right corner, there's a terrific video on the Charleston experience produced by Dave Statter for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
I remember after that fire there was a lot of finger pointing and wagon circling going on in Charleston. And I can't begin to imagine how uncomfortable it must have been to have every aspect of the incident and the department closely scrutinized and laid bare for all to see.
But when the reports from the commission led by J. Gordon Routley were released, the entire fire service paid attention. The Charleston Fire Department was completely rebuilt from the ground up, and it's safe to assume that many other departments across the country underwent some remodeling as well.
Whether or not West will get a Routley-style commission remains to be seen; there are compelling reasons for one. What can be said is that West is going to get looked at long and hard — and it won't be pleasant for them.
I wish there was a way West firefighters didn't have to go through the added heartache of such an examination. Yet, when you look at the results from Charleston, you realize that what we learn about West won't simply be about West. It will be about all fire departments — especially volunteer departments — with an industrial presence in their jurisdictions.
We can no more afford another West any more than we can afford another Charleston. Unfortunate as it is, West firefighters will suffer so that the rest of us can be smarter and safer — for that, we owe them our gratitude.
